Gary Soop: What are you hungry for?

The Gospel of John provides us with an eyewitness account of the life and ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ. The story that unfolds in chapter six describes a surge of popularity as a large crowd kept following Jesus all around the Sea of Galilee. What was their motivation? What was the attraction? What were they hungry for? According to John:

• The crowd saw the signs that he was doing for the sick as Jesus healed people.

• The crowd also ate their fill of loaves and fish as Jesus fed the 5,000 and satisfied their hunger.

• With the festival of Passover drawing near, the memories of the Exodus and the hopes for a Messiah were stirring great expectations within the crowd.

• Some people hailed Jesus as a great prophet and others wanted to take him by force and make him king.

So the crowd went looking for Jesus and wanted more, more, more! If you examine the conversation between Jesus and the people, you discover that the crowd wanted more signs, more proof, more bread; then they would believe in him.

People often do the same thing today. We call upon the Lord in prayer for healing, for help, for our daily bread. That is fine. But discipleship, following and loving Jesus, goes deeper than that. If we look carefully, there are two potential dangers within this story.

One danger is expressed by Jesus with these words, “Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you.” His words would have a familiar ring to the crowd, for they echo these words from Isaiah 55: Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Incline your ear, and come to me; listen, so that you may live.

The danger here is neglecting the spiritual nourishment that satisfies the hungry heart and thirsty soul and gives us true peace. People often conform to this world of consumerism and try to stuff their lives with lots of things, pleasures, and activities that only temporarily satisfy. What we genuinely need in our lives is some “soul food” which Jesus is able to provide in great abundance!

Someone shared this timely story with me in an email last week. A churchgoer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday. “I’ve gone for 30 years now,” he wrote, “and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of me, I can’t remember a single one of them. So, I think I’m wasting my time and the pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all.”

This started a real controversy in the letters to the editor column, much to the delight of the editor. It went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher — “I’ve been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this. They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today. Likewise, if I had not gone to worship for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today.”

In Isaiah 55 God calls us to “Come...listen… and live.” In the Gospel of John, the son of God calls us to “Come…believe… and live.” Jesus reveals himself as the true bread from heaven, the bread of life, the one who will fill you and not leave you empty. Many in the crowd were looking for Jesus because he provided physical healing and satisfied physical hunger and needs.

Yet what Jesus desires to give is far greater. Jesus desires to give spiritual wholeness and eternal life as he gives himself in faith to us! Jesus wants to be present and at the center of our hearts and homes, nourishing God’s children and transforming our lifestyle.

This brings us to the second danger. Do you deeply love someone — your spouse, your family, your best friend — for who they are, or do you love them because of what they do for you? What about Jesus? Do you love the Lord with deep devotion because of who Jesus is, or because of what you expect him to do for you?

Some people I know have walked away from following Jesus because he did not fulfill their wishes; that will also happen for many in the crowd at the end of chapter six of John’s Gospel. Yet I have also been with people who are sick or in pain and they remain joyful because of Jesus; and I have seen people who have so little and yet are so generous and gracious because of Jesus!

What are you hungry for? Jesus invites all people to come, believe, and live. He is the bread of life, and he will nourish, strengthen, restore, and refresh our lives, both now and forever! What Jesus freely gives is himself. He offers each of us more than principles. What he provides is more than foundational, it is relational!

God has come to us in Jesus Christ, reconciling us to himself, restoring our personal relationship with our heavenly father, so that we may experience in daily life “the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit.” Grace, love, and communion — these are personal terms of endearment, gifts of God for his beloved children in Christ!

What are you hungry for? The bread of life has come down from heaven and gives life to the world. Lord Jesus, gives us this bread always! Come to us and live in us! Feed us and fill us, so we may grow strong in you and glorify you, here in our town and throughout the world, both now and forever!

Gary Soop is the pastor of the Spirit of Peace Lutheran Church in Richmond Hill. He can be reached at 727-5608.